Captured Hearts

Chapter Ten: The Opposed

"Hibarin, in light of your actions during the rebellion, I hearby grant the vampires access to their new enclosure. Please take the exit on your left," Dino said, smiling widely. "Mukuro will be waiting to tell you about it, and make sure you thank Shoichi and Spanner when you see them."

Hibari dashed through the door the second it had risen high enough for him to do so, and Basil followed, though less enthusiastic. Hibari hurried through the tunnels, then finally came out upon a wide enclosure that somewhat resembled the centaur enclosure, except there was dirt in place of the flowers, and the tree was short, and thin. There was also a rock wall that extended up pretty high before it turned into a tinted glass dome, revealing tinted sunlight. But a canal of water circled the enclosure alongside the rows of dirt, and Hibari decided that they were expected to tend to their own gardens.

Being a huge lover of roses, Hibari found his heart racing with giddiness at the idea, even though he tried not to express that. "Wow...," he breathed, looking to Mukuro, who stood waiting for them. "This is great."

"Kufufufufu... I'm glad you like it," Mukuro replied, holding out his arms. "C'mere, you softy." Hibari ran over and hugged Mukuro tightly, planting kisses on the side of his face to emphasize his joy. Meanwhile, Basil snorted and sat down against a wall, picking up two rocks and chipping one with the other. Hibari looked into the hunter's eyes, and Mukuro released him, starting to explain about the enclosure. "So, flower seeds and such are stored in the pocket of the rocks over there, you can use the water, it's clean. Also, it took a while, but we built a tunnel in the canal that leads to the merpeople tank, so you can go to visit them- which I wouldn't suggest, or they could come through the tunnel, too. I particularly expect Fran to visit frequently. Also, since this is linked to your previous enclosure, you can go back and forth from here to there in order to get to the hunting grounds. Of course, if you decide to trust possibility, fish from the merpeople enclosure and the hunting grounds are more than likely to occassionally turn up here."

Hibari smiled, and walked over to the small tree. "Birds?" he asked. Mukuro sighed.

"There's just no end to your ideas, is there?" he asked. "Maybe someday."

The ravenette smiled, and nodded, still pleased with what was provided. "Thanks, Mukuro. It's perfect."

"Fufufu, good luck getting Basilicum to agree with you. He's young, so I'll bet he doesn't quite like what you do," Mukuro chuckled. "I've got to go let the werewolves into the hunting grounds. Enjoy, you two!"

"Later!" Hibari called, before running over Basil. "Isn't this nice? We have space, exquisite dim lighting, fertile soil, clean water, I just can't contain my joy- it's wonderful!"

Basil nodded tiredly, still chipping at the rocks. It seemed like he was making himself a dagger. "I do not share thy sentiments. This environment is false. Do not allow it to fool thee."

Hibari sighed, and placed a hand on Basil's shoulder. "It's beautiful, Basil... why don't you appreciate that?"

"Thou art a vampire of higher class than I, Basilicum Arpeggio V. Thou also hast more of a liking to what humans refer to as the 'finer things in life'. I merely wish to escape, Lord Hibarin."

Hibari sighed, about to say something more, when he saw something odd surfacing in the canal. "Fran?"

"Don't mind me- I'm a rock. Just keep doing what you were doing," Fran said, signaling for them to continue.

The older vampire laughed and walked over to the merman, before patting him on the head. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, eavesdropping until recently," Fran muttered. "I had some news to share with you."

Basil got up and walked away, as if annoyed to have their conversation interrupted, but Hibari didn't care. He was more intrested in talking to Fran, anyway. "What is it?" he asked as Fran started to lift himself up onto land. Fran sat with his tail in the water, and soon began.

"Y'know how Bel was carrying me yesterday, right?" he said. Hibari nodded. "Well, when he did that, I realized that I am CRAZY in love with him."

Already aware of Fran's crush on the werewolf, the vampire smiled, and said, "About time."

"But you know, he's supposed to take that silver-haired werewolf as his mate. So I found out that they want nothing to do with each other, and I don't have any competition anymore!"

"Good for you," Hibari said honestly.

"But that's not all," Fran replied, his expression starting to sink, "Dino says he's going to ask Spanner and Shoichi to build the werewolves a hunting ground of their own, since they aren't much suited to fish. If that happens, I won't be able to see him very often!" Fran folded his arms to alert Hibari to his frustration, and continued, "The tamers don't understand what true love is. It doesn't have to be strictly within the species- it can cross between kinds of animals... you understand, right? Because I KNOW you aren't intrested in Sir Pantsalot over there."

"Pantsalot?" Hibari repeated, arching a brow in confusion.

"Lancelot, Pantsalot, same thing. Medieval-tongue guy," Fran sighed. His tail suddenly left the water, before changing into a completely different substance and splitting down the middle as human legs, and a human waist, closely guarded by blubbery shorts. "God, that feels weird," Fran muttered.

"You learned the charm?" Hibari asked. The merman nodded, then folded his legs, and held his ankles with his hands as he leaned forward.

"So, Hibarin, where have YOUR eyes been wandering?" he asked.

"... Meaning?"

"Whom have you been unable to look away from?" the merman restated.

"I'm sorry, I don't-"

"Who is the best candidate to become your mate, damn it?" Fran said, tired of the vampire's stalling.

"Oh. I don't know," Hibari answered. Fran started to groan obnoxiously, as if Hibari had said something really annoying, and after a while, Hibari said, "All right, listen. I don't know because I'm mildly intrested in quite a few people... See, Takeshi's too carefree, and I have no idea what I'd do with his body, same with Byakuran, and he hates me now, Hayato's rude, and has a huge crush on that Tsunayoshi, Dino's too happy, Basil has his freaky accent, and Mukuro..." Hibari trailed off, and Fran signaled for him to continue.

"C'mon, what about Mukuro?" Fran asked. "What about him?"

"He killed my parents," Hibari said, his voice gentle. Yes, even though Hibari had tried not to hold it against him, since vampire-hunting was Mukuro's job, it was hard to block out the pictures that flashed across his mind. His mother and father, their dead bodies lying next to each other in an eternal slumber...

The trauma was going to last.

Fran, however, wasn't good at sensing a serious mood, and he was fast to act as Frans do. "Wow! Didn't expect that. Nuh-uh."

"I had just started hunting on my own... and one day, when I came home, they were just... lying there, dead. Peacefully, I should add. But seeing them lying together so closely, gunshots to their heads... it's been difficult to live with the man who presented that scene to me."

"How dramatic of you, Hibarin. You're gonna have to tell me how it turns out," Fran said. "Speaking of... how do you know that?"

"Both rumor and the witnesses of the shadows," Hibari murmured. "Plus... whenever I smell him, I remember the scent that was hanging on the air when I walked into that house."

"What scent would that be?" Fran asked.

Hibari tried to remain serious as he answered, "Pineapple," but Fran's outburst of hysterical laugher was too tempting to prevent a few chuckles. Fran soon calmed himself, and placed a hand on Hibari's shoulder.

"You'll be fine, Hibari; trust me, I'm a merman." (Cudos to anyone who got that reference!)

"Heh. I'm still breathing," Hibari sighed.

Fran smiled widely, then started to inch towards the canal. "I can't stay out for very long," he told the vampire. "I don't know how you guys do it, but I can't live without the water, so I'll be heading out."

Hibari nodded. "All right, Fran... I'll see you later."

The merman nodded, saluted to Hibari, and slid into the water, before diving down and vanishing where Hibari assumed the tunnel back to the merpeople tank. Hibari glanced back at Basil, who was sitting beside the small tree, hugging his knees, his head in his arms. The younger vampire was quite cute, looking all woe-is-me like that, so Hibari decided to go and try to cheer him up. The ravenette walked over to the other and sat down beside him. "Hey, Basil," he murmured. "If you're that upset with the new enclosure, I suppose I wouldn't mind if you drank some of my bl-"

'Ood' was replaced by a gasp when Basil suddenly tackled Hibari to the ground, his jaws locking around the older's neck. The usually shy fangs were warm spears now, piercing the skin with ease before the young vampire began to drink greedily. Hibari winced at the sharp sting in his neck, and he closed his eyes, suprised by the fierocity. In most cases, a vampire could take blood without causing the victim too much pain. It was simple; all one had to do was make sure their fangs weren't dry, and that they bit in a region that didn't have as many nerves. This information was taught to every vampire by their parents, because it didn't take vampires long to realize that being reckless meant causing others to be hurt and angered unneccessarily. As such, there wasn't a vampire alive that didn't know where the proper places to bite were at. Besides, causing pain without meaning to was just a plain rude way to thank your host!

"B-basil," Hibari grunted, placing his hand on the other vampire's lower back and rubbing in a soothing way. "Are you... all right?" It made perfect sense for him to ask. If Basil was angry at him, then they should resolve things efficiently- not through blood theft. On the other hand, if it was simply strong instincts that Basil had due to his young age, Hibari should have known so that he was sure that Basil was at least in a decent mood. However, the younger vampire only continued to drink, his fangs brushing against a nerve directly, which only caused Hibari more pain.

It took a while, but Basil eventually parted from the older vampire, the ruby liquid trickling down his chin. Basil blushed and wiped at his lips, murmuring, "I'm sorry, Lord Hibarin, but thy blood is just so-"

"Delicious, I know. I've heard," Hibari sighed. Basil looked down.

"My utmost apologies. If thou is to offer me thy blood, I simply cannot control myself...," Basil murmured, his face crimson.

Hibari felt the wound on his neck and cringed, for one of Basil's fangs seemed to have actually pierced through a nerve. "Don't worry about it," Hibari sighed. "I'm fine."

"Hey, Hibarin!"
The two looked to the door just as Mukuro came in. "C'mere, Hibarin. I want to spend a moment with you."

-End Chapter

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